Community Update: Changes at 82 Avenue and 97 Street

The Ritchie Community League is sharing updates about a recent City of Edmonton project at 82 Avenue and 97 Street. These changes are part of the Neighbourhood-wide Street Labs project, which is focused on improving safety and accessibility for everyone in the community, including pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers.

What’s New?

1. Centre Median Installed
   A centre median has been added to prevent left turns at this intersection. This change reduces the risk of head-on collisions, which have been a concern in this area.

2. Improved Cycling Safety
   97 Street is a designated bike route, but cyclists had raised concerns about heavy traffic and the difficulty of crossing 82 Avenue. To address this, a half signal with bike detection has been installed, allowing cyclists to cross safely without vehicle interference.

3. Reducing Shortcutting and Speeding
   97 Street is meant to serve the local community, but it has experienced high levels of speeding and shortcutting. The new median now limits traffic to right-in and right-out turns only, encouraging drivers to use streets better suited for through-traffic:

• In Ritchie: 96 Street (the designated collector road)

• In Strathcona: 99 Street or nearby alternatives.

Why This Change?

The City of Edmonton made these changes as part of the Neighbourhood-wide Street Labs project, which responds to community feedback and safety concerns. These improvements:

• Reduce conflicts for pedestrians and cyclists

• Calm traffic on local roads

• Enhance the overall safety and usability of our streets

The Street Labs project is part of the City’s Vision Zero goal to reduce serious injuries and fatalities on Edmonton’s roads. Learn more about Ritchie’s Street Lab installations here.

Next Steps

This project will be evaluated in Spring 2025 to see how well the changes are working. The evaluation will include:

• Traffic counts and speed measurements

• Feedback from residents

• A summary of results shared with the public

The City may adjust the changes based on these findings.

Stay Informed

The Ritchie Community League supports projects like this one and other City of Edmonton initiatives that impact our community. For more updates about this project and others that affect Ritchie, visit our Civics Updates page.